University of St. Thomas Athletics
Black Hills State (S.D.)
(RV) St. Thomas hosts Black Hills State to kickoff 2023 season
8/30/2023 12:00:00 PM | Football
Tommies 14-0 in home openers since 2008
| St. Thomas Game Notes |
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The wait is over. The University of St. Thomas football team's much anticipated 2023 season will officially kickoff this Saturday, September 3. The Tommies will host Black Hills State University in their home and season opener on Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 1:04 p.m. at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
There may be more on the line than football fans realize when St. Thomas takes the field Saturday afternoon. The Tommies are riding the longest home field winning streaking in the NCAA, having won 26 consecutive games at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. Thanks to losses by Clemson and Cincinnati in 2022, that counts as the longest home win streak at any level of college football, including NCAA Division I FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III. Additionally, St. Thomas has never lost a home opener in the Glenn Caruso era. In fact, since Caruso took over the program in 2008, the Tommies are 14-0 in home openers and 14-1 in season openers, with their lone loss coming on the road at Southern Utah last year.
Tickets are still available for Saturday's game and can be purchased online at www.tommiesports.com/tickets. Fans who are unable to attend in person can now watch St. Thomas football through Midco Sports Plus and the Midco Sports Plus App. The subscription-based service will provide a digital streaming platform for regular season home St. Thomas football games along with exclusive Tommie and Pioneer Football League (PFL) content, including replays, highlights, interviews, and special feature stories. Subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 for an annual plan. Fans can also listen to the call on 1500 ESPN and follow Live Stats on TommieSports.com.
Carrying the Banner:
St. Thomas will unveil its 2022 PFL Championship banner in a short ceremony prior to Saturday's coin toss. The Tommies won their first PFL Title in just their second Division I season, closing 2022 with an overall record of 10-1 with an 8-0 mark in conference play. St. Thomas also closed the season on a 10-game win streak, the longest for any college football team in the state of Minnesota.
Tackle Cancer:
In addition to the banner unveiling, Saturday will serve as the Tommie's Tackle Cancer game for the 2023 season. Since its inception 11 years ago, Tackle Cancer football games and the Minnesota Football Coaches Association (MFCA) Have raised over $3 million to support the cancer community through donations to the Randy Shaver Cancer Research & Community Fund. In 2022, over $473,000 was raised for Minnesota's cancer community, and in 2023, the goal is to raise $500,000.
Pregame Festivities:
Purple in the Plaza is back and will open two hours before kickoff for all home Tommie football games. In 2023, Purple in the Plaza will feature a beer garden, popcorn bar and yard games, including an inflatable field goal challenge.
Scouting Black Hills State:
Black Hills State put together its best season in recent history in 2022. The Yellow Jackets posted an overall record of 7-4 with a 5-4 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. Black Hills State won five of its seven games in the first five weeks of the season, opening 2022 with an undefeated 5-0 record. The Yellow Jackets only won two of its final six games.
Tommie Tidbits and Notes:
Starting off strong:
Veteran head coach Glenn Caruso has never lost a home opener in his tenure at St. Thomas. In fact, Caruso is 14-0 in home openers since taking over the program in 2008 and 14-1 in the season opener, regardless of location. His only loss came at the hands of Southern Utah in Cedar City last year.
Countdown to 150:
In his career, Caruso has amassed a career record of 149-37, including a 143-27 mark at St. Thomas. The reigning PFL Coach of the Year needs just one win to join the 150 club and seven to win 150 games as head coach of the Tommies. Additionally, Caruso ranks 17th among all DI football head coaches in tenure and is the second longest tenured head coach in the PFL.
Coaching Carusos:
Turns out, coaching runs in the blood of the Caruso family. Daughter Anna joined the St. Thomas football coaching staff in 2022 as a Quality Control Specialist for In-Game Strategy and Data Research. Her dad Glenn joined her on the sidelines this summer as an assistant coach for the 14U Highland Ball softball team.
Dominant D:
The Tommies defense was top notch in 2022, holding opponents to an overage of 17.18 points per game. The rush defense was especially dominant, holding opponents to just 96.5 yards per game.
Privilege of Pressure:
St. Thomas enters the 2023 season as the favorite to win the Pioneer Football League (PFL) for the second consecutive season. The Tommies received 98 of 100 possible votes in the Preseason Coaches Poll and saw nine student-athletes selected to the PFL Preseason All-Conference Team.
In the polls:
St. Thomas received votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top-25 Preseason Poll after closing the 2022 season ranked No. 20 in the nation.
(Preseason) All-America Status:
Junior wide receiver Andrew McElroy became the first Tommie Preseason All-American in the DI era earlier this month. McElory was named to the Stats Platform FCS Preseason All-America Third Team after a breakout sophomore season in which he led St. Thomas in multiple offensive categories as a wide receiver and kick returner.
Nine is just fine:
The Tommies saw nine student-athletes receive PFL Preseason All-Conference honors on August 3, including a league-leading five First Team honorees. Jonathan Bunce (Edina, Minn. / Edina), Yusef Leak (Orlando, Fla. / Master's Academy), Andrew McElroy (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook), Alec Rasmussen (Wayzata, Minn. / Wayzata) and Shawn Shipman (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Champlin Park) were voted Preseason First Team All-Conference by the PFL head coaches, while Jason Laliberte (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove), Luke Herzog (Mendota Heights, Minn. / St. Thomas Academy), Landon Reed (Naples, Fla. / Community) and Grif Wurtz (Chaska, Minn. / Chaska) garnered Second and Third Team. It counts as the biggest Preseason All-Conference class since the Tommies joined the PFL in 2020.
Live from St. Paul:
In early August, St. Thomas Director of Athletics Dr. Phil Esten announced a new streaming home for Tommie Football. St. Thomas will partner with Midco Sports to stream all home Tommie football games in 2023 through the Midco Sports Plus App. The subscription-based platform will provide a centralized hub where fans can not only follow the St. Thomas football team, but they can also watch other events and games happening within the athletic department.
